Shaken up by off lead dogs.

[itsmellslikepopcarn]

More of a moan than anything but WHY do people let their dogs off lead when they have no recall?

Thought we’d take 13 week old puppy on his first trip to a local country park to do some training and a nice walk, along with 4 year old dog.

Older dog has fantastic recall (too anxious to go too far from me!) but is reactive so doesn’t go off lead unless there is no-one around. The second I spot people he immediately goes back on, which happened today.

Two large chocolate labs off in the distance so back on the lead he goes. They’re easily 50 feet away if not more, but start to mosey on over, owners call them back but don’t put them on a lead. Again, they start coming over, bounding over at this point.

Ive got my dog as tight as possible at this point while he’s snapping and snarling at these two who will not respond to their owners. They eventually wander over, not quickly, and get them to come away. My partner says “they shouldn’t be off lead if you can’t control them” at which point the male owner shouts “shut the fuck up!” and turns back towards us, shouting that our dog should be muzzled. There would have been zero issue if his dogs weren’t off lead, my dog was walking along fine ages away until they bounded over, which I explained and he said they were puppies - again no excuse, our puppy isn’t off lead yet because he won’t come back! Also they looked pretty full grown to me.

I wish people would realise the impact things like this can have on anxious dogs. He’s generally pretty good at ignoring on lead dogs (I put him into a sit with chicken until they pass) but there’s nothing he or I can do in that situation. He’s been getting so much better with his reactivity in general and I fear this has set him back down 😔

Personally I prefer not to walk in those sorts of places as they do chuff all for my dog’s bad social skills and I live rurally so have better options.

But why would you all need to put your dogs on leads? You recall the dog briefly to give them room to go past, that’s all that’s needed.

If it’s causing a huge interruption and everyone is having to put leads on then it’s not an amicable dog meet up is it, it’s just a load of uncontrollable loose dogs.

I do agree with @LadyMuckingabout

Of course you should recall and leash your dog when you see an on lead dog. But as the owner of a dog who’s on lead for whatever reason, to purposefully walk in an area where dogs are happily playing off lead and not bothering anyone is unfair on the dogs playing.

it’s not just about that ‘one dog’, every dog should be allowed to be happy.

I am one of those people who rarely sees unruly dogs, could be I’m just lucky. I know they exist because I’m in a friendly group where we do complain about the one owner whose dog is a nuisance.

But again... if they’re not bothering anyone, why is it an interruption of an on lead dog walks by?

I could leave one of mine off lead passing a reactive dog, because he won’t go over where he’s not wanted and if he looked like he was getting too close I could recall him - I don’t because I tend to be passing them on paths and I know it’ll make the other owner more relaxed if I stick his lead on for a minute, so I do.

But in a park... there’s plenty of room.

But as the owner of a dog who’s on lead for whatever reason, to purposefully walk in an area where dogs are happily playing off lead and not bothering anyone is unfair on the dogs playing.

Why is it unfair? You have no more right to be there than they do.

I don't walk my dog on lead where there are load of badly trained off lead dogs @LadyMuckingabout

Do people really walk reactive dogs through the middle of a group of off lead dogs playing? I find that quite hard to believe.

to purposefully walk in an area where dogs are happily playing off lead and not bothering anyone is unfair on the dogs playing.

I still don’t really understand.. how would it be interrupting the dogs playing? or be unfair on them? If they’re capable of playing with each other and not running over to anyone who enters the park mindlessly then why would it be a problem for someone to walk their dog through on a lead? Surely if they went to run over to someone who’s dog was on a lead the owner would just call them back?

If you’re suggesting that the loose dog/s WOULD bother whoever came onto the park then you’ve kind of answered your own question there and they should be recalled or leashed. You don’t own the park.

or are you really suggesting if an owner with a dog got to a park where there’s a few dogs off lead, should they turn around and go home because they’re not welcome.

The people denying that harassment by loose dogs is a thing, are the ones suggesting that the people with a reactive dog MUST be all of a sudden walking through a pack of loose dogs then wondering why they are being approached.. it’s bullshit quite frankly.

The reality is, it doesn’t matter where you go, I go all over with my lot and see dogs doing this about 3-4 times a week to varying degrees, running everywhere, jumping on other dogs, and running up to kids and families without a dog, usually followed by a shout from somewhere ‘DON’T WORRY HE’S FRIENDLY’ or someone calling the dogs name over and over without actually retrieving their dog.

Reactive dogs and owners do make me nervous, I will be honest. It's something about the rigid posture, the death stare and the I dare you to come near me approach. Like they suddenly own the 100 square feet around them.

My dogs are good at recall, but a couple of times I've been caught out when one of these types have seemed to jump out of the undergrowth.

Pre-lockdown I took old dog for plays/walks and never encountered oddball dog owners.

With new dog they seem to be everywhere - glaring, marching along crossly… just not being pleasant . No one likes unruly, rampaging dogs - especially if they jump up - but posters on here are sounding angry about any harmless dog.

The level of preciousness is not tenable in our very crowded spaces. Another strange woman shouted at me to put dog on a lead. When I pointed out that her dog was running free, she put her hands on her hips and said she was at the park first!

There's no escaping the unleashed dog though. OP isn't purposely walking through a field of them. They are EVERYWHERE.

There's two in my street that jump the fence regularly, one of whom being an xl bully, who followed my son and repeatedly circled and jumped at him so much that he ran home instead of going to the bus stop.

We've been on picnic tables where a dog has appeared out of nowhere and stolen food. The owner blames you for having food.

We've been out for walks and dogs have come to the toddlers faces and we get told not to be silly, he just wants to say hello. Obv they're always friendly 🙄.

I do have a dog and have posted similar frustrations myself but all of these examples, I haven't even been with a dog. People don't care. Their rights and their untrained dogs rights will always win.

With new dog they seem to be everywhere - glaring, marching along crossly… just not being pleasant. No one likes unruly, rampaging dogs - especially if they jump up - but posters on here are sounding angry about any harmless dog.

I don't feel the need to be pleasant to people who allow their dogs to be a royal pain in the arse, tbh.

I walk dogs for a living and I'm out for 4-5 hours most days. The vast majority of dog owners are polite, considerate and friendly. If my dogs are on lead, they call their dogs away. If mine are off-lead and I call them back, they do likewise. If both sets of dogs are on lead, we give each other space. I'd say 90% of the time it works fine and everyone has a nice time.

But when someone repeatedly lets their "friendly" dog approach mine I get a bit pissed off, to be honest. Especially when my dog is clearly upset and the dog just won't go away.

A dog doesn't need to be aggressive to be rude. Most of these dogs are harmless (in that they're not aggressive or looking for a fight) but that doesn't mean they're not also causing problems for my dog who just wants to be left alone to sniff and enjoy his walk.

A pestering dog is annoying. But posters are complaining about any dog being free when theirs is on the lead. Upthread someone was complaining about whistles. Why? Three peeps and my dog is back by my side. Clearly their rule is that other dogs never move 3cm away from their owner.

I am just off out. Dog will be running joyfully through the woods, and my whistle will be round my neck, at the ready. We shall give a wide berth as usual to unpleasant-looking dogs and their surly owners!

A pestering dog is annoying. But posters are complaining about any dog being free when theirs is on the lead.

I don't see anyone doing that - I just see lots of frustrated owners asking that people make sure their off-lead dogs don't approach on-lead ones without permission.

Nobody is saying your dog can't run free and be off the lead, just that you call it back when you pass and on-lead dog and pop it on-lead if it won't stay by your side.

I am just off out. Dog will be running joyfully through the woods, and my whistle will be round my neck, at the ready. We shall give a wide berth as usual to unpleasant-looking dogs and their surly owners

Me too. Acme whistle and treats at the ready. I will be visiting a giant dune system in about an hour when all the tourists have gone home for dinner. My dogs will be more interested in sniffing rabbits than any other dogs nearby.

No one is complaining about off lead dogs. I don't care if your dog is on lead or off lead, as long as it doesn't come bounding over to mine when mine's on lead.

But posters are complaining about any dog being free when theirs is on the lead.

no they’re really not, you’re actually making things up to suit your own narrative. People on here are complaining about dogs running over to them uninvited and triggering their reactive dog.. or in my case loose dogs running over and pestering us and not taking no for an answer, when my dog/s isn’t receptive to playing with them.

it happened tonight, two families, and we had 5 dogs with us off lead on 1 side of a massive field, 2 dogs appeared who wouldn’t go back, we could JUST hear their owner calling, they were literally on the opposite side of the field, they didn’t make a move to come over just kept shouting their names, they eventually went back, one had a crap right by us then went back too, then 5 minutes later they were back.. they shadowed us all the way across the field.

it’s so fucking annoying, shit owners, untrained dogs.

Totally agree op, our dog is really good with other dogs in that he's trained to completely ignore them and other people. He's only approached another person once in the last year and it was because he was just off a fortnight's bedrest with an injured paw so he got overexcited on our first walk out and was immediately put back on leash for the rest of the walk. So I do get that sometimes things happen even with dogs like mine who's recall is pretty flawless. I still leash him anytime we see a dog in the distance that's leashed incase they are nervous or reactive. That owner still has the right to enjoy a non stressful walk with their dog and to me it's part of being responsible for your dog and also protecting them. The owners you met sound incompetent at best and uncaring at worst.

I agree completely. I couldn't care less how many dogs are off lead. Mine is very likely to be one of them. But it's absurd to suggest that it is somehow unfair to these dogs if they are briefly recalled to their owners or put on leads. That is just common courtesy. As I wrote above, my dog isn't reactive in the slightest. However, I would never let him approach an unknown dog (on lead or off) without checking with the owner first. Unfortunately, there are far too many irresponsible owners out there.

There are also a lot of owners who believe they have a friendly dog because the dog is not outwardly reactive when the dog is anything but friendly. Case in point today, a large dog came running across a field to harass greet my dog. The dog got closer to him and then its body language became very stiff. Its tail was held very high and it started to sniff my dog. My dog was clearly uncomfortable and tried to move away. Dog followed him and then started to rest its chin on his shoulders and back and then it tried to hump him. My dog then growled and barked at it and the dog started growling back. At this point I took it by the collar and returned it to its owner who was still on the other side of the field. Owner was very unbothered and claimed that the dog was friendly. When in reality:
a) The dog was not friendly. The greeting was a confrontational one, not a friendly one.
b) Even if the dog was friendly, I do not want a large breed dog humping my senior, small breed dog thanks.

I hate coming across dogs and owners like the one above. My dog lacks confidence around other dogs anyway and incidents like this just prove to him that other dogs are scary.

It is nice to see that some dog owners are responsible and understand what a dog is, quite worrying how many posters don't get it at all. Friendly is a bad word really as anyone who says friendly is a red flag that they don't have control.

What has happened to basic manners? We were taught that if you see a dog coming towards you on a lead, that you put yours on a lead. Why has this changed? Why do people think we want their dogs to come bouncing over to play with ours? Utterly bizarre.

I was also taught to carry a walking stick to ward off dogs with unruly owners. Our old Collie hates other dogs sniffing around her due to health issues. We had to use the stick to protect her from dogs without recall (never hurt them but used the stick to give her space). She would never do anything to them but hide between our legs until the dog went away.

Our other elderly dog is deaf and hates dogs springing on him. We tend to confine his walks to pavements and of course never let him off the lead but still dogs spring on him. Why? Why do people think this is a good way to let their dogs behave. If you can’t call you dog away from other dogs, keep them on the lead always.

Now we are training our young pup and still people allow their dogs off to investigate. What goes through their heads? People humanise their dogs and thats why we have so many disobedient dogs now. Let me train my dog in peace (and maybe spend some time training your dog!)

That's another bizarre thing I have encountered. I have been actively and obviously training my dog and someone let their dog jump all over her. I tend to smile and move away as a first step but yet this persists.

I am very tempted to get an 'In Training' lead cover but I doubt it would make any difference! Today I was playing some self control games as the field was very quiet and I looked up and saw a dog hooning towards us from a big distance and heard 'It's ok he's friendly' Thankfully we were able to move away sharpish until another (elderly and quite doddery) dog took his fancy.

😐

My dog is similar to yours op it's beyond frustrating when off lead dogs approach him.

Lots of dogs don't like random dogs jumping all over them, other owners just need to control their dogs.

Took mine out this morning. Quiet country path.

Met one dog and owner. Saw them coming and my pup stopped and looked worried as she does unless she knows the dog. So I waited with her and gave her reassurance and the odd snack. The owner called her dog to her and asked if I’d like her to put her dog on the lead and I said thanks but she’s just a bit under confident and as long as your dog isn’t too rough then she’ll be fine. So the dog came over very calmly and then walked on after a polite greeting. My pup decided actually dog was cool and tried to initiate play to which the other dog reciprocated and they played really nicely for a minute or so until mine started getting a bit rough so we mutually called our dogs away, wished each other a good walk and carried on.

Its lovely when you get a moment like that. That’s all it takes.

https://fb.watch/mnfJjwh5CT/

If this guy can do it without stressing out, perhaps those with 1 reactive dog too? 🤣🤣🤣